


what if there is no tomorrow? there wasn't one today.

by annmeredithperkins



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: Angst, F/M, but mostly mindy gets to speak her mind, danny gets his own groundhog day, early s6 canon, i am a danny apologist and i would’ve liked to have seen more of his redemption, please claim this as canon, the universe loves fucking with castellahiri, there is some nice fluffy best friend moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:46:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24379681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annmeredithperkins/pseuds/annmeredithperkins
Summary: Mindy Lahiri had begun to believe in some higher power interfering in her life, letting her become a white man for a week and forcing her to relive the same day. Little did she know, she wasn’t the only one the universe was messing with and soon enough, Danny Castellano gets his own taste of the 1993 classic.
Relationships: Danny Castellano/Mindy Lahiri, Danny Castellano/Sarah Branum (mentioned), Mindy Lahiri/Ben Miller (mentioned)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	what if there is no tomorrow? there wasn't one today.

The universe loved playing games with Mindy Lahiri. She’d raged about changing her bed and selling it to some creepy voodoo shop after the white man incident since that _must_ be the thing making all this crazy shit happen to her! But, that would mean telling Ben she believed the furniture was magic and she figured the only possible outcome of that was him forcing her to seek psychiatric help. Or, you know, another of their passive aggressive fights. 

The universe also loved playing games with Danny Castellano. Danny had seen Groundhog Day once, and subsequently deemed it stupid, back when he and Mindy were together. When he admitted he hadn’t previously watched it, he received a smack of shock from his girlfriend before she stormed to tell Morgan of his apparent pop culture crime. 

Mindy had a habit of picking films that she then only enjoyed nuzzled into his side, scrolling through her phone distractedly. It was both annoying and endearing, like things about Mindy often were. 

“This is bullshit Min.” He gazed down at her, nudging her to gain her attention. 

“Hmm.” She murmured into his shoulder, looking particularly tired after the stressful delivery she’d had today. Danny moved his arm from her waist into her hair, and saw her lips turn up as he brushed through it nonchalantly. 

“I don’t get why the universe is wasting time making him relive the same day just so he can get with Andie MacDowell.” He heard a slight sound between an exasperated sigh and a laugh erupt from Mindy.

“How romantic, Danny. They’re meant to be together, because she makes him better. But, he’s too ignorant to see that on his own. I think it’s sweet that the universe wants to help...” 

She yawned her way through the last couple of words so he pressed his lips to Mindy’s forehead before grabbing her hand and leading her from the couch. 

“Come on, Richard Curtis. I think it’s time to sleep.” 

****

“We should go on a date.” 

“Huh.” Sarah’s gaze didn’t wander from her patient’s chart which sent a bolt of aggravation through Danny. He forced himself to not grit his teeth as he continued.

“We don’t go out a lot. I just think it’d be nice to do dinner and a movie or something.” He watched as she nodded, still not entirely focused. 

“They’re playing Groundhog Day at that movie theatre off broadway tomorrow night. What do you think?” Sarah grimaced and sucked in a breath. 

“Tomorrow I’m flying home. I’m sure I told you?” 

“Yeah… I’m sure.”

****

“Hey Danny, it’s your ma. I have to take Dot to her yearly checkup tonight because she apparently can’t take herself. Are you alright to bring Leo to Mindy’s? I’m sorry darling, I’ll see you soon, alright?”

Danny waved his arm absentmindedly in the hopes of grasping his phone, collecting it a second time lucky. 

“Sorry I missed you.” His voice was rough with sleep as he spoke into the returned call. “You sort Dot out, I’ll get Leo from school. Love you, ma.” 

“Was that Annette?” Sarah leaned against the doorway, holding a sweater in one hand and a shampoo bottle in the other. She noticed his gaze and rolled her eyes. 

“I’m going back to Sacramento, remember? I’ll only be a couple of days, my dad really needs to see me.” Danny nodded, still partly asleep. “Get some breakfast, babe. Don’t mind me.” 

She had finished her cramming as he sat at their kitchen island, chewing on some stale wholemeal toast. He’d have to pick up a new loaf on his way back from Mindy’s place, he noted. 

“I’ll see you later.” She approached, kissing him sweetly before exiting the apartment. 

The subway to work was uneventful; it always was now he didn’t have a companion prone to narrating their journey. Work generally was much more normal away from Shulman and Danny often considered how he had managed to stay at that place for so long without literally tearing his hair out. 

_Her._

Just as he was about to escape his office for lunch, the door opened and his tall, gangly ex colleague entered. 

“Dr. C you look 5% more grumpy than usual. You’re lucky, it’s time for Morgan’s monthly make an appearance.” He grinned, waving his arms dramatically in his own form of jazz hands. 

“God Morgan, not now. I just want to go eat.” 

“Oh my god. Yes, I will totally come with you. We can go wherever you want.” Before Danny could protest, Morgan had grabbed his coat, shuffling him out of his own office with hands lodged firmly on Danny’s shoulders. 

The afternoon dragged and Danny found himself cancelling his final appointment, getting out of there whilst he could and heading to Leo’s nursery. When they arrived at Mindy’s, he nodded politely at her and said his goodbyes to their son before making up some excuse about Sarah needing him home. His Friday had not been unusually stressful but Danny felt drained and just wanted to stretch on his couch with scotch and Clint Eastwood. Tomorrow was Saturday, and he had it all to himself. 

****

“Hey Danny, it’s your ma. I have to take Dot to her yearly checkup tonight because she apparently can’t take herself. Are you alright to bring Leo to Mindy’s? I’m sorry darling, I’ll see you soon, alright?” 

**** 

“What day is it?” Sarah was packing her purse, her larger luggage already by their door. 

“It’s Friday, sweetie. I’m going to see my parents.” 

“Right.” Danny blinked. “Yeah, sorry. Have fun.” 

“You’re being weird. I’ll see you later.” She kissed him briefly before waving and collecting together all her bags. 

The day felt like a horrible case of deja-vu, the slightest cough or murmur leading to clenched fists. He threw a cold shoulder at his fellow doctors when they greeted him, shutting himself in his office and lowering his head to the desk in dismay. 

“Dr. C you look 5% more grumpy than usual. You’re lucky, it’s time for Morgan’s monthly make an appearance.” 

“Morgan. Please. Tell me you were here yesterday and I’m not going insane.” Danny adjusted his head only slightly to catch the nurse’s eye as he sat down. 

“No. It wouldn’t be called a _monthly_ appearance if I showed up two days in a row, duh. Also Thursday lunchtime is when I pick up Dr. L’s dry cleaning so I just couldn’t fit you in, sorry.” 

“Great. That’s just great.” 

****

On the third day, Danny caught the phone as it rang. 

“Yeah mom, I’ll take Leo to Mindy‘s tonight. It's fine.” He hung up and leaned against the headboard. Two days had him suspicious but this? Had he hit his head? Was that what this was? It felt like the most sensible explanation; he was probably just comatosed. 

As he ate, Sarah kissed him goodbye, and he hardly registered her leaving. He caught the subway in a constant daze, noticing small mannerisms of his fellow passengers that echoed yesterday. Or, today, he supposed. 

“Dr. C you look 5% more grumpy than usual. You’re lucky, it’s time for Morgan’s monthly.. ”

“..make an appearance.” 

“You know me so well. This is why you’re my second best friend.” He collapsed on the chair opposite Danny without invitation, resting his feet on Danny’s New Yorker stack. 

“Hmm… Morgan you might be the only person I know nuts enough to not judge me. I think I’m having a..” He said the next part with gritted teeth and a hushed tone. “..Groundhog Day situation. That’s how I knew what you were gonna say.” 

“Not this again...” His companion lamented, throwing his arms in the air and knocking a pile of paperwork in the process. 

“ **_AGAIN_ **?” Danny was getting overly panicked and that translated into a raised volume and a raised pitch. “What the hell do you mean? Never mind, I don’t even wanna know. What do I do?”

“Well that’s up to you, isn’t it. Don’t join the navy, though.” He seemed oddly serious about the last part. 

“As usual Morgan, you were as useful as a car with no gas.” He sighed in a way he was sure seemed specifically designed for Morgan Tookers but was interrupted. 

“You should ask Dr. L.” He blurted, causing a look of confusion to rise on Danny’s face.

“Because, you know, she really loves that film and stuff.” Morgan shrugged before attempting to spin his chair and subsequently breaking it in the process. “I’m gonna….” 

“Just go.” 

**** 

On the way over with Leo, he contemplated the pros and cons of sharing his crazy situation with his ex. He didn’t talk to Mindy that often now, not since Sarah and definitely not since Ben, finding ways to avoid direct contact between them. She was always gonna be important to him, but their best days were behind them and they’d been too young and stupid. 

“Don’t flatter yourself, Grandpa.” Her voice echoed through his conscience. Fine, he relented to Head Mindy, maybe not young. But definitely stupid. 

His knock was greeted by a yell of “just come in” and he let the boy push the door open and race to see his mom, who was sat cross legged in front of her fridge, still wearing her teal scrubs. 

“Oh hey Annette, you look different.” Mindy laughed, the cackle she used when she was proud of her own joke. Danny rolled his eyes, but her humour was oddly comforting to him. 

Leo was the greatest thing in Danny’s world, and he smirked sometimes at the fact he had permanent ink to prove it. But when he felt selfish, and she did something so perfectly in character as this, or frown whilst handing him his favourite salad that she happened to grab on her way to collect their son, he reminisced that he didn’t miss Mindy as Leo’s mom half of much as he missed Mindy as his best friend. She was a similar level of crazy to Morgan, but also wise enough he felt like he could confide in her about this. 

“What are you doing tonight?” 

“Urgh, why?” She retaliated, not used to him asking her about her life or really, not used to him being here period. 

“Can we take Leo to the park just down the block, I need to talk to you about something?” Mindy’s eyes narrowed as she considered him carefully. It was Danny, which meant she was pretty sure murder was off the cards, but it was suspicious nevertheless. Ben would’ve told her to just say no and let Danny go about his day and maybe it was that instinct that pushed her to nod reluctantly. 

*** 

“Min, remember when you made me watch Groundhog Day?”

Mindy’s eyes widened in a way Danny struggled to understand, and he didn’t like that one bit. She’d always been an open book; any emotion that wasn’t already coming out of her mouth would be displayed on her face, but a switch had flicked when their relationship adjusted that felt like a puncture to Danny’s heart. She didn’t trust him enough, not like before, and that translated into her expressions. They were perched on the rusting swing set, watching Leo stumble around the nearby climbing frame. 

She scoffed, “I never made you watch anything, Danny. Except that one time you were tie—“

“Stop. You’re getting distracted!” He sighed, brushing the knee of his jeans nervously. Danny didn’t like being nervous, and it felt very out of character for him. Mindy noticed his anxious movements and placed her hand over his own, stopping them. 

“Are you trying to tell me you’re living in a Groundhog Day scenario? Because I know your life’s boring now Danny but..” He glared at her and she smiled back playfully. 

“I’m serious. As serious as reliving the same day can be, anyway.” He shrugged. 

“What crazy shit have you done then?”

Danny felt his eyebrows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I know you might think this thing is forcing you to have some kind of psychological epiphany I just..” Mindy sighed, as if she was unsure whether to continue. She bit her lip, then swallowed any reservations she had. 

“Every time I see you it’s like you’ve got even more on your mind, Dan. That means a lot too, because you’re basically always stressed and I’ve just let you roll with it. All I’m saying is that if it was me, I’d do some crazy shit whilst I have the time.” 

“Like what?” He looked more puzzled than angry, which worried Mindy that what she’d said had been entirely correct, but she was almost thankful he was too beat to get defensive about it. 

“That’s up to you, my friend.” She squeezed his hand lightly before standing and moving off of the swing set, motioning for Leo to join her. “We better go.” 

**** 

Thus began what he thought Jeremy would label “Danny’s Groundhog Fun Extravaganza.” He let loose, in true Castellano fashion, with structure and routine. 

The first week he spent learning The Stranger to expert level on his now dusty grand. The next he built gingerbread Mount Rushmore, which felt especially rebellious in September. 

The satisfactions were brief and soon, a fuse Danny didn't know had been lit exploded within him and he really began to realise the extent of freedom this had given him. 

Leo was liberated from his classes and they drove to the beach, or toured NYC’s most popular attractions, making fun of the awe displayed by non-residents. Danny realised he was himself impressed by some of his city’s architecture to a point he hadn’t slowed down enough to get to. He remembered thinking briefly that he understood why people thought the Empire State Building was the greatest in the world as he had lay there with his ex fiancé in his arms, but that felt like a lifetime ago, and not just because of the day repeating. 

He bought VIP tickets to Springsteen’s Jersey show. Several times, actually, but he felt like he deserved it. 

One day he walked into the practice naked to elicit reaction, the next persuaded Morgan to sneak into Yankee stadium with him which led to more running than a 43 year old should have to undergo; Morgan screaming “I PROMISED GRANDMA NOT AGAIN” in his wake. 

“I’m sure when I said crazy I wasn’t thinking about getting Morgan re-arrested but, in some ways, that’s a good thing?” He’d persuaded her back to the park and she was kicking her heels into the gravel, trying to gain momentum for a proper swing. 

Danny grimaced, “I’m tired, Min.” She stopped her movements. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s been fun. All the time with Leo. It’s the most I’ve seen _you_ in months, even if you don’t realise it.” He trailed off, murmuring the last bit but not enough so Mindy couldn’t catch it, grinning slightly. 

“I just want to know how to end it now. It’s lonely.” 

“Without Sarah, you mean?” She kicked once, a little harder than intended. 

“No. Well, yes. But..” He glanced up at her, trying to catch her eye. The swings were ideal for Mindy because she could avoid the gaze, looking straight ahead at Leo and not getting too far out of her depth. Despite this, she turned to match him, ignoring the part of her brain telling her not to. She’d never known anybody who could make her lose herself with a look, but Danny Castellano wasn’t anybody. 

“It’s weird, like I’m getting older but everything else isn’t on the same page anymore.”

“You’ve seen the film Danny. It’s time for some Oprah style self improvement.” She said that like it was obvious, and maybe it was to someone who hadn’t watched it only once with a Mindy attached to his hip distracting him. 

“I’m not a Bill Murray level asshole.” 

“We had to call off our engagement because we would fight literally every single second of the day.”

“That was because _we_ didn’t work! That wasn’t because of me.” His voice inched up, as it always did, and Mindy scoffed at his ignorance. 

“No! This is it Danny. You are so quick to defend yourself, never stopping to take responsibility. You were mean, Danny. Mean and hypocritical. And…” Mindy began to choke up, too many things she wanted to say flying out and scorning her throat. 

“All I wanted was for you to admit it and apologise.” 

Danny was dumbfounded, sure they’d never had a conversation like this, where he barely had time to breath, never mind retort. Mindy’s eyes were fire, glancing over to check their son wasn't in earreach. She exhaled, cooling herself down before continuing. 

“We were always gonna argue, I didn’t mind that. I minded that whenever we were done arguing, you made it seem like I was the only one in the wrong. It takes skill to make another person hate themselves like that. If I was the universe, I’d maybe force you to confront how you treat people Danny, because sometimes people treating you badly first isn’t an excuse.” She brushed at her coat subconsciously in a way that meant she was done talking to him and stood from the swing. 

“Mindy?”

“Yes?” She looked on the verge of tears, having given all into her outburst. Danny’s own eyes were wide and calculating. He’d been stupid sure, but mean? He just wanted what was best for his kid. His kid who was now tossed back and forth between two homes and yet excelled at developing his mother’s nurturing instincts. He’d told himself he believed Mindy couldn’t have both, when really he was just scared that his son would become too much like him, too broken. 

“I.. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not gonna remember that in the morning, you know?” He shrugged. It didn’t matter, because at some point he’d make it up to her. Mindy Lahiri was a stone cold bitch and it had hit Danny how much he hated what he’d done to her, trying to push her down to his level. 

“I love you, Min.” He said it softly, just like the last time. It wasn’t a plea, just a fact in his mind, unaltered even if they didn’t choose each other. He thought he’d found his way out back in her apartment, the easy, no compromise route of marrying Sarah; but was easy the same as happy? Danny was really starting to think it wasn’t. 

“Well, maybe you should’ve acted like it when you had the chance.” 

****

Danny was sure that was it. When he woke the next morning, it’d be Saturday, and this would be over. 

So when he heard his mom’s ringtone it took all his strength to not scream at his favourite woman in the world. Instead, he waited till the call was over before he flung his device violently at the hardwood floor, shattering the screen. It shocked Sarah and she ran to see the commotion, Danny quickly covering before telling her it was an accident and not to worry. 

He didn’t get out of bed.

It was the first time in a while since the incident began that he didn’t do anything, just wallowed and thought through yesterday’s conversation. 

He knew he’d treated Mindy terribly, having reached that epiphany last night, but how was he supposed to change that if he had to live the same day over? Unless, it wasn’t just about him and Mindy. 

Morgan rang at 12:30, annoyed that he hadn’t been in his office, but mainly concerned. Danny told him that he just felt ill but ‘please god’ don’t come round with his family chicken soup recipe which Danny was sure did not contain any form of chicken. 

Much like with Mindy, it was his denial that had stopped him from breaking the cycle. He knew in the back of his mind, and sometimes in the front, that Sarah wasn’t the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He knew that the day they said their vows, as he snuck into an empty room and called the person he would run away with at the drop of a hat. 

But even without Mindy, this game he was playing with Sarah made him as shitty as Phil Connors. Made him as shitty as Christina had been to him. 

Danny Castellano hadn’t had it easy, that was true. But it was about time he stopped letting that rule him, because he realised now how much that had backfired in his face. 

**** 

He texted his mom a reply to her voicemail, calling Sarah into the bedroom as he typed. 

“I’m sorry. I need to say that more.”

“What for?” Her lips quirked into one of the many myriad of expressions she held at her disposal.

“Marrying you when I didn’t mean it.” He watched eyes widen as she spluttered out a “What?” in response. 

“I think we should end this.” 

Danny went to sleep alone, for different reasons to his other Fridays; and woke up alone on Saturday. He reached for his phone, dialling a number he hadn’t considered in a long time with purpose. 

“Hey Cliff. How you doing? It’s Danny Castellano.”

****

The universe loved playing games with Mindy and Danny, because it was sure they forced each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hey!! i’ve been working on this idea since watching the show and i thought it would be interesting to explore why danny decided to get divorced and how that turned him back into the danny we loved for s6.... it’s not that cheery but honestly miss kaling gave us such a lovely ending in canon this is just a filler for their angst in the middle ;) ty to jules who is always the first to read and check my one shots, which I appreciate a lot!


End file.
